West Trenton, NJ - Early this morning in locations throughout
New Jersey, t he State Police’s Intelligence Section launched raids
against the infamous Nine Trey Gangsters street gang targeting 96 gang
members and affiliated persons. Dubbed “Operation Nine Connect,” today’s
actions are the culmination of an 11-month joint investigation by the
Division of State Police and the Division of Criminal Justice aimed at
disabling this violent group believed to be responsible for more violent
crime than any other street gang. Arrests continued throughout the morning
in locations across the state. As of the printing of this release, more
than 60 persons had been arrested with further arrests expected over
the coming weeks.

Teams of troopers and officers from 31 agencies in 7 counties arrested
their quarry and executed more than 15 search warrants to recover additional
evidence of crimes. During the operation, approximately 500 law enforcement
officers worked in this cooperative effort. Charges ranged from 1 st
degree Racketeering to extortion, money laundering, organized criminal
gambling, distribution of CDS (drugs), weapons charges, and conspiracy
to commit these crimes. Intelligence has revealed that Nine Trey members
have been responsible for a number of murders and untold numbers of drive
by shootings.

During the execution of arrest and search warrants today, several handguns
were recovered and quantities of drugs were seized in each of the three
regions. Arrest teams processed subjects in the closest of three regional
State Police headquarter buildings in Buena ( Atlantic ), Hamilton (Mercer),
and Totowa ( Passaic ). Each regional location was staffed with Deputy
Attorneys General to provide legal guidance throughout the operation.
From there, the gang members and affiliates were bussed to Mercer County
Jail, where by prior agreement, they were all lodged pending arraignments
over the next few days.

“Our aim in this investigation was, quite simply,
to put an end to this extremely violent set of the Bloods
street gang in New Jersey ,” said Attorney General
Farber. “We have successfully executed one of the most
significant and large-scale gang takedowns in the history
of law enforcement in our state.”

“In this operation, the State Police are indeed striking
at the root of evil rather than hacking at its branches,” said
Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State
Police. “This type of intelligence-led policing reduces
crime by eliminating it at the source.”

Operation Nine Connect is the first major project of the
realignment of the investigative resources in the State Police
that occurred in 2005. Lt. Colonel Frank Rodgers, Deputy
Superintendent of the Investigations Branch initiated these
changes to infuse intelligence-based policing into the architecture
of the agency. Intelligence analysts worked through the results
of the Statewide Gang Survey and pored over crime data to
come up with the most critical threat to safety in New Jersey
.

“We found the Nine Trey set of the Bloods were responsible
for more violence and crime than any other source at this
time,” said LTC Rodgers. “By concentrating our
enforcement on the source of the problem, we will have an
impact on the quality of life for our citizens.”

“We took down almost the entire leadership of the
Nine Trey set,” added Rodgers. “We are very satisfied
with the results of Operation Nine Connect.” The State
Police gang analysts estimate the strength of this set to
be between 250 and 275 members in New Jersey .

“This is what we have in store for the leaders of
New Jersey ’s violent street gangs,” said Division
of Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw. “We will
be steadfast in our efforts to arrest and prosecute those
responsible for the gunfire that is ravaging many of our
communities.”

Under the new structure, Regional Intelligence Groups (RIG)
contain both analysts and intelligence officers responsible
for interpreting the criminal environment within each bureau’s
specific area of responsibility. They provide strategic and
tactical intelligence products that influence how best to
allocate resources.

The Nine Trey Gangster are located throughout New Jersey,
with strong networks located in the cities of Newark, Paterson,
Atlantic City, Trenton, Asbury Park, Keansburg, and Bridgeton/Millville/Vineland
(BMV are run as a single entity by the bloods hierarchy).

The name “Operation Nine Connect” was derived
from the gangs organized hierarchy that moved leadership
members around to run different cities and allowed high-ranking
members in prison to issue orders to others on the outside.
East Coast Bloods sets were founded on Rikers Island in 1993
by Omar Portee (O.G. Mack) and Leonard McKenzie (O.G. Deadeye).
The first

set created in the prison was the Nine Trey Gangsters. Mack
and O.G. Deadeye are considered the "Godfathers" or
O.G. (Original Gangster) of the East Coast Bloods. The two
recruited inmates to form the Bloods to fight off the Neta
and Latin King gangs within the facilities. Identifiers include
distinct tattoos, the use of hand signs, and the display
of red items on their person, such as red bandanas, caps,
and clothing.

In the state of New Jersey, the Newark set is the largest,
and most influential, directing a portion of the criminal
activities occurring in other Nine Trey Gangsters city strongholds.
David “Duke” Allen , of Newark (NJ) has received “Universal
G Status” within the Nine Trey Gangsters gang, which
affords him this status on a nationwide level. The investigation
has revealed that Allen, from prison, has ordered disciplinary
actions as well as hits on fellow gang members for Bloods
misconduct.

In the Central region, the Trenton set is the most prominent,
and was the focus of the initial investigation. Smaller sets
are located in Asbury Park and Keansburg. These two sets
have established structures with 5-star generals in command.
In the South region, Atlantic City is the stronghold.

“The information gathered in this case and through
these arrests will continue to fuel our attack on street
gangs and the crimes they commit,” said Colonel Fuentes. “Guided
by intelligence-based policing, we will follow crime to its
root causes and strike our most effective blows there.”